


cerulean met hazel

by thiinking



Category: Madam Secretary
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 11:33:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28937832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thiinking/pseuds/thiinking
Summary: This is a short oneshot about how Elizabeth and Henry might have met at UVA. Elizabeth is caught by Henry, when rumaging through her professors desk.
Relationships: Elizabeth McCord/Henry McCord
Comments: 3
Kudos: 9





	cerulean met hazel

"Uhm...excuse me, can I help you with anything?"

Elizabeth's heart almost jumped out of her chest, when she heard the deep voice behind her. She instinctively shut the drawer she was looking through with so much force that the whole desk shook for a second.

After turning around, _cerulean met hazel_.

"I, I was—" Elizabeth felt the blood rushing into her cheeks as she spoke. She looked back at the desk, avoiding his gaze. Her eyes analized the wooden table so intently, it seemed like she hoped a believable explanation would magically appear if she just stared at it long enough.

"Wait. What are _you_ doing here?" Their eyes met again.

Having overcome the initial shock, she was now able to really look at the person standing in front of her without completely losing her composure.  
Judging from the glasses and the slightly messy brown curls, he looked like the typical academic. However, the imprint of his muscles underneath the shirt he was wearing told a totally different story. One that she definitely wouldn't mind exploring furter on another occasion. _Stop_. What was she thinking? She was here because she needed to improve her grade. She had to focus on her studies, her application. The guy in front of her wasn't worth any of her time anyway. She had seen him around campus before. He was one of the _annoyingly self-absorbed_ ROTC guys that were always running on campus grounds.

"I'm professor Johnson's TA. I came to drop off some papers." He lifted the large manila envelope in his right hand up for her to see. "He's not here at the moment."

A religion major was definitely an odd choice for a future Marine.

Elizabeth followed his gaze as he looked at the watch on his arm, but got distracted almost immediately and was now taking in the view of his muscles flexing. „Which is usually the case at 10 pm on a weeknight. You should come back tomorrow." He then motioned to the big oak door on the other side of the room.

When his Arm moved, her eyes shot up to his face. He was looking at her expectantly.

"Yes, right, uhm...Thank you." Elizabeth muttered and tried to leave the office as quick as possible, avoiding any eye contact. She didn't want to get into any more trouble than she already was.

"By the way, he doesn't keep the answer keys in his desk. _Maybe try studying next time_."

Elizabeth stopped abruptly. She did try, she really did. Who in their right mind decided that religion was an important course for CIA applications? It didn't make any sense. Math was logical, abstract and either wrong or right. It was composed from the qualifications that a good analyst needed. Theology on the other hand was based on wage assumptions and the interpretation of old scriptures. It was pure frustration. How was she supposed to perfect something that didn't even have a solution.

"I did. It just doesn't make any sense to me at all. How am I supposed to know what he wants me to write? It's not like anyone knows what those saints and philosophers meant when they carved their thoughts into an old, broken vase _or whatever_."

She strode back into the room, her blonde ponytail swaying from side to side with every step.

"Not that you would actually care, but the materials that were used most frequently were papyrus, parchment and vellum."

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, emphasizing her irritation. She really shouldn't waste her time trying to explain the lack of cogency and substance of the subject to the TA of a religion professor.

"Why are you taking one of his classes if that's what you think?" She stared him directly into the eyes, rage from all the frustration building up inside of her. He lifted both of his hands and took a step back. "No offense, just asking."

She shook her head and looked to the ground, not willing to accept her dependence on a good grade and most importantly his superiority in the subject and situation.

"I need it for an application."

She looked up again, waiting for a degrading comment.

"What are you applying for?"

He smiled tentatively. His expression seemed like he was genuinely interested, but he really just wanted to make her feel bad, _right?_

"Can't tell."

He chuckled slightly, then walked towards Johnson's desk, put the envelope down and leant back against it. He crossed his arms in front of his chest before talking.

"So what grade does that _super-secret_ application require?"

She looked down again. All throughout High School and College she had gotten straight A's, until this class. A 'C' was the definition of total destruction of all of her dreams and expectations.

"An A."

Henry shook his head and pushed himself away from the desk, walking around it to sit on the chair behind it.

"Well, I can see how your attitude might be a problem with achieving that. I'm Henry, by the way. So, can I ask what the name of an _'answer-key-thief'_ like you is, or is that also _classified_?"

Elizabeth walked towards the desk, until she stood directly in front of it. She put her hand down onto the dark wooden surface and lent forward until there were just inches separating her from Henry.

"First of all, I am _not_ a thief. I was just inquiring information that could have helped me with my grades. Secondly, I am _not interested."_

Henry felt her breath against his skin. The thought of kissing her crept onto his mind for a second, before he shoved it away as fast as it came.

"Okay. _Understood._ Just to be clear, I only wanted to look up your last paper to see what you should work on and if I could help you."

She immediately removed her hand from the table and felt the tingling warmth from her stomach rise up to her face, making her blush. _Again_.

"I, I don't need your help. _Thank you very much_." Her statement was followed by a dramatic eye roll, which made Henry suppress his laughter. Luckily, she was too distracted with showing her reluctance to notice.

"I'm going to, _uhm_ , leave now, it's late and I still have a lot of studying to do. Goodbye, _Henry_."

She turned around, blonde locks floating away.

"If you ever change your mind, you know where you can find me."

She shot him one last annoyed look, her blue eyes glistening in the dim light of the office.

" _Not happening._ "

Henry stood up quickly, catching one last glimpse of her.

"Can I at least know your name?"

He shouted after her, but was left with the slowly vanishing sound of steps in the hallway. He was sure she would come back, or at least he was hoping she would. He had never met anyone like her before. She wasn't only an incredible vision, but also clever and opinionated. Most girls on campus tried to fit in, hoping to merge into the crowd to avoid any kind of judgement by others. That definitely wasn't her. Thinking about the way she blushed, his lips immediately formed a smile. He was definitely going to find out her name. _He needed to._


End file.
